Stipe Miocic talks boxing Anthony Joshua: ‘I’d give him a run for his money’

It has become increasingly popular for MMA fighters to call out boxers and challenge them at their own sport. After all, Conor McGregor did it, and got the attention of Floyd Mayweather, who is still considered by many as the biggest name in boxing. There seems to be a growing amount of interest from the other side as well, with other boxers welcoming the contests, too.

Current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, who's a previous Golden Gloves winner, has stated that he would like to fight British professional boxer and current unified world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua. Miocic is hot off a vicious TKO win over Junior dos Santos at UFC 211, as he used his powerful striking and pressure to get the quick finish and retain his title.

Miocic recently talked about his chances against "AJ" in a interview on the MMA Hour show with Ariel Helwani.

“If the fight happens, me against Joshua would be a great fight,” Miocic said. “I think I’d surprise a lot of people, I think it’d be an amazing fight ... let’s do it! He’s a great guy. He’s tough, he’s a champion for a reason. I think I’d give him a run for his money.”

“I do a lot of boxing and I’ve boxed before, working on my boxing I think I’d be fine,” he added. “He’s a tough guy, he’s the best in the world. But, I’m pretty tough, too.”

When Miocic fought in the National Golden Gloves competition, he won his first two bouts but was subsequently defeated by a worldclass heavyweight boxer in Bryant Jennings. Other than that, he does not have any boxing experience, nor any professional bouts on his record, but has managed to finish a lot of his UFC fights using his boxing.

After controversially winning heavyweight gold in the Summer Olympics of 2012, "AJ" recently faced former world champion Wladimir Klitschko, knocking out the formidable opponent in dramatic fashion, and ending his 13 year undefeated run. The super-fight took place at the world renowned Wembley Stadium, with over 90,000 fans watching on. Joshua was reported to have made somewhere in the ballpark of 20 million dollars for the contest.